First off, let me say that I've loved football for pretty much as long as I can remember. Specifically I love the New York Giants, but I'll happily watch just about any two teams play if I have the time. Over the past season and the first chunk of this one, I've seen a lot of NFL commercials with the theme "football is family". If you've watched any football or any channel that also shows games, you've probably seen them too. They usually feature a cute family wearing matching jerseys or a friendly family feud between rival teams, something along those lines. Anyways, I was talking to my dad the other day about the disappointing Giants game against the Packers when I realized how there is actually a lot of truth to those commercials.
I was really little, probably 5 or 6, when my dad came home from work one day with a brand new kids-size Giants jersey. It was for #21, who at the time was Tiki Barber and he quickly became my favorite player on the team. I loved late August because it meant the return of football and going to preseason games with my dad.
I still remember sitting in the stands with my dad saying "watch that guy" as he pointed to the receiver in the end zone waiting for the kickoff. I remember jumping up and down in excitement when the Giants scored a touchdown and sinking into my chair alongside Dad when the other team did. I remember asking a ton of questions and, if I got bored, my dad would tell me to use my binoculars to find specific players on the sidelines.
A couple years passed and my sisters were old enough to come to preseason games as well. It made for some awesome catches in the parking lot before the game, and by that I mean Dad had some great throws and the we all tried our best, and it was a great opportunity for my sisters and me to spend time with our dad.
More time went by, I was watching most of the regular season games at home. If it was an away game, I got to watch the game with Dad but if it was a home game I would either not watch or watch with Mom. The biggest treat of fall of 4th grade was going to my first regular season Giants game. I think the Giants lost, which was a bummer, but I had so much fun anyways. It was fun to tailgate with Dad and still fun to be in the stadium - it was full for the first time that I'd been there - and to see a game that actually counted.
From then on, I usually got to go to at least one regular season game a year and it was always a Sunday I looked forward to. Whether the Giants won or lost, I always had a good time and always left looking forward to the next time. Of course it was more fun when they won and everyone would leave smiling. It was so exciting to be there to watch them win the wildcard game against the Falcons in 2011. It was pretty cool to see David Wilson do backflips after scoring touchdowns. I learned that chanting "CRUUUZ" is indeed as much fun as it sounds on TV. I'd like to say it was awesome to be there to see Odell Beckham Jr. make that crazy one handed catch but, to be perfectly honest, it was on the other end of the field and I thought it was incomplete before I realized everyone around me was jumping and cheering and I saw the replay that I knew it was a touchdown.
Most of all though, I love hanging out with my family. I've only been to a couple preseason games without Dad and they were always a little weird. He works full time and I would see him for dinner, and he was always more than happy to help with homework, but football has always been something we share. Getting ready to go, driving to the stadium, tailgating and throwing a football around, and seeing the game itself have created some of my best - or at least most unforgettable - childhood memories with Dad. Even now, in my junior year of college, we talk or text about the game each week and it's always exciting when a school break lines up with the date of a home game where a spare ticket is available.
I may have forgotten all the teams I've seen the Giants play against. I've definitely forgotten the final scores of the games. But I'll never forget "Watch that guy". I'll never forget high-fiving Dad and all the other Giants fans when they score or intercept the ball. I'll never forget spending so much time with my dad as he shared his love of football and the Giants with me.
Win or lose, cheering for a team gives you something to bond over. You bond in excitement when your team wins the Super Bowl and you mope in gloom when they go 6-10 for two consecutive seasons. You watch great, mediocre, and fairly bad players and coaches come and go from the team. But, no matter what happens, you get to go through the highs and lows of being a football fan together as a family.
